Shoe rack



N. BECK 2,295,886

SHOE RACK Filed. Sept. 50, 1941 Sept. 15, 1942.

.lmmaz/vaz Mam Ibex Patented Sept. 15, 1942 UNHTED STATES PATENT OFFICESHOE RACK Application September 30, 1941, Serial No. 412,981

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a shoe rack.

An object of the invention is to provide a shoe rack that can be mountedupon the interior of a closet door or any other suitable support whichwill serve to support or rack shoes adequately. In the conventional shoerack there are spaced horizontal bars on which shoes are deposited. Theupper of these bars is designed to engage the forward edge of the heelin such a manner that the sole of the shoe rests against the lower barof the rack. These racks frequently are located in a dark portion of aclothes closet so that difficulty is experienced in selecting from therack the desired pair of shoes. Such racks are also disadvantageous inthat theyare incapable of supporting wedge type shoes or those shoeswherein the bottom surface of the heel is flush with the sole with norecess or shoulder at the forward part of the heel. By means of thepresent invention shoes of all types whether equipped with theconventional heel or with Wedges may be satisfactorily mounted on therack and if the rack is mounted on a closet door, the shoes on the rackwill be swung into an open position that is usually well lighted tofacilitate selection of the desired pair of shoes from the rack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe rack that is ofsimple, sturdy, and inexpensive construction.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, which will be mademanifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointedout in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawingfor an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a partial view in front elevation of the shoe rack embodyingthe present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken approximately upon the line 2-2 uponFig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawing wherein similar referencecharacters designate similar parts throughout, the improved rackcomprises a horizontal supporting bar l which may be formed of wood orany other suitable material. This supporting bar preferably hasapertures ll therein designed to receive screws or equivalent fasteningdevices l2 for mounting the supporting bar on a suitable support such asa closet door D.

The bar Ii! has a flat upper surface I 3 and a flat forward surface Itand may be ornamentally molded as at l5 adjacent its bottom. On the rackthere are a plurality of individual shoe supports. Each supportcomprises a length of relatively heavy Wire bent centrally to provide atoe-engaging portion 15 which is disposed upwardly and forwardly of thebar I0 so that when a shoe S is mounted thereon the top of the shoeabove the heel will naturally swing or rest against the forward surfaceit of the bar. From the toe-engaging portion IS the sides of the wirespread downwardly and rearwardly slightly and then slightly contract asindicated at ll. The sides are preferably bent slightly downwardly andrearwardly as indicated at l8 in Fig. 2. Adjacent their lower ends thesides of the wire are bent horizontally rearwardly as at I9 over the topsurface I3. The downwardly extending portions 20 may be equipped withsharpened points and are driven into the bar It].

In applying shoes S to the rack, each shoe is slipped over its supportand is lowered until the toe-engaging portion l6 engages the toe of theshoe. If the toe of the shoe is open, as has been the case with someforms of womens shoes, the toe-engaging portion l6 engages the sides ofthe shoe adjacent the open toe. The upper portion of the shoe normallyswings and rests against the forward surface I 4 although this is notessential to the construction.

If the rack is mounted on a closet door, all of the shoes mountedthereon are swung by the door when opened into a readily accessibleposition. All of the shoes on the rack are readily available forinspection purposes in making a selection.

From the above-described construction it will be appreciated that theimproved shoe rack is relatively simple in construction, durable indesign, and relatively inexpensive, and that it will support shoes inthe desired position regardless of whether the shoes have shoulderforming heels or wedges.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe rack comprising a supporting bar, and a plurality of shoesupports thereon, each support being in the form of a wire bentcentrally to form a toe-engaging portion, and sides which spreadslightly and then contract in extending downwardly and rearwardly fromthe toe-engaging portion, the lower ends of the sides being benthorizontally rearwardly over the top of the bar and then extendingdownwardly into the bar.

2. A shoe rack comprising a supporting bar, and a plurality of shoesupports thereon, each support being in the form of a wire bentcentrally to form a toe-engaging portion, and sides which spreadslightly and then contract in extending downwardly and rearwardly fromthe toe-engaging portion, the lower ends of the sides being benthorizontally rearwardly over the top of the bar and then extendingdownwardly into the bar and being pointed.

NELSON BECK.

